MikeyBoyAz

First of all... it was electric. [sigh]

Now that I have that out of the way...

Today on my false flat ride I was pushing along in the drops when a scooter turned right into the bike lane on the far side of the stop light where I was waiting. On green I pumped it and 1/2 mi later I was 20ft behind him closing fast. I looked down at the speed which said 21.6 and mashed harder to draft. He didn't startle but he sure did look bemused I was pacing him. After a mile I decided it wasn't enough work floating behind his scooter so I paced him on the outside and he was impressed... we kept chatting and then he turned onto another road.

Once out of sight I of course dropped back down under 19 and started sucking air like mad as pacing 21.5 is not a usual for me.

As for the skeptics... I picked him up around 30:40 and dropped him around 36:50
Garmin Connect
Oh yeah, and it was only an 18 mi ride... so not that long.

Anyway, yay me. [Not expecting any medals here]

P.S: I was on a slight downhill at the time too... You'll notice that too if you look at the link... but still for fat 250lb me, I am proud.

ClanLee

Good job drafting the guy. You might not get any precious metals but you should get a medal.

On my ride to the Rose Bowl, I noticed a white truck turning into my lane. At first, I didn't pay much attention to it but then I realized that it wasn't going very fast. After a few seconds, I realized that I could probably catch it and get a draft. It took me about a minute and 30 seconds to catch up to the truck (going about 24-26 mph). For a brief 20 seconds, I was in it's wake, enjoying the respite from the wind.

Then, without a friendly wave, the truck accelerated and took off.

I have the video but it's taking forever to load onto youtube.

ClanLee

Here's the video:

Shytheed Dumas

Last week I paced a Port-o-Potty truck with a fresh toilet right on the back of the bed for about half a mile on my commute home. It started on a down hill off an overpass before flattening out and it just pulled me right along once it flattened. It was a short run but great!

iconicflux

That would have been really crappy if the port-a-potty truck wasn't fresh. :-P

horus11B

on post here in korea the speed limit is 40 kph but most vehicles are obviously going around 45... I kept getting annoyed the other day because the cabs were just riding behind me even though I was giving them plenty of room to pass, and then realized that I was following the flow of traffic and they didn't need to pass... and that I was actually gaining on the cab in front of me...

Kind of brought a HUGE smile to my face. I can empatize..... feels great huh?

jwill87ta

Real nice

jwill87ta

I'm afraid to ask where you have your camera mounted.

DropDeadFred

can you p.p.s. w/o a p.s.?

and I think you mean medals...and no...you won't get any for pacing 21mph

dsprehe89

My first time taking my road bike out I took it over a fairly large overpass in the town where my parents live. The road has a speed limit of 30 going down the overpass yet pretty much everyone does 35-40 and just slows down when they get to the bottom. Needless to say, I got the enjoyment of passing a Public transit bus on the way down the overpass. My friend who was riding with me said that his computer said 30 and that I just seemed to launch off from him. I was probably doing close to 40mph (sadly no proof ) but I did get a lot of odd looks from the people on the bus and that made it all worth it .

DropDeadFred

is that the chest mount for the gopro? is it comfortable?

Bob Dopolina 

Motor pacing is pretty much useless under 45~50kph.

I also STRONGLY recommend you don't try it unless the person driving knows EXACTLY what they are doing. If they don't there is often a price paid and the currency is epidermis.

dgasmd

Awesome line LOL.......

pallen

I hit 27 pacing a city bus for about a 1/4 mi. That was fun

bikecrate

I routinely blow the doors off golf carts…if they had doors.

Bob Dopolina 

You were not motor pacing. Unless you can spit on it you're not close enough for it to count.

I'm pretty sure you were getting some draft though but based on your cadence and the fact that you were as upright as a flagpole on the hoods I'd suggest recalibrating your computer...



On a side note that is some pretty decent video. I feel like I'm your Johnson and we're out for a ride. What did you use for this?

Nachoman

I assume you mean "pacing" that truck, as opposed to drafting it.

haha. Bob beat me to it.

gladiator13

+1

billyb0b115

i believe it's a chest mount

Megiddo

Yeah, that was my question... good ride though!

ClanLee

Yes, I was using the chest harness. I had it positioned just above my diaphragm so when hunched over, it's pretty low. If I wasn't careful, my knees would knock the camera. Otherwise, it's pretty comfortable. I'm still playing with the position to see which is best for me.

Drafting, pacing... ok, so I was was pacing it. I didn't want to get any closer than I did because I couldn't see in front of the truck. Plus, cars routinely stop without warning.

LOL, yes, it does seem like you were looking through the eye of my johnson. I had the GoPro HD mounted upside down and shooting in 1920x1080.

According to my Garmin, I was doing 24-26 mph before I caught the truck. Behind the truck, I hit 27 mph as we hit the slight uphill, then I wasn't able to keep up.

kf9yr

OP good job with your ride, a lot of us have never weighed 250 and have been riding a long time so forget what an accomplishment like that can mean to someone else.

As for the video, that gives me an idea. I own a business and we bought a 24ft ex-UHaul truck and wrapped it with our logo for advertising. I also have custom jerseys with the business name on them. Maybe I'll get my brother to motor-pace me and make a video with a couple of Go-Pro cameras. I better explain to him he's not my beneficiary first so he doesn't brake-check me.

theREEDeffect

Did anyone else laugh when "horse xing" came out of nowhere in that video? No? Okay, carry on.

Bobsled

Or the blue mini driving on the wrong side of the road.

MikeyBoyAz

As to the Truck video, due to their size they can be drafted from a significant distance. Every road-trip I have to drive I try and get behind an 18wheeler, at about 150 feet back i can feel it start to pull me along and don't need the accelerator anymore... so really you can draft on a bike quite a ways back when the object in question is that big.

yeah, it was late...medal... metal... sounds the same.